SETARA Institute’s monitoring reports over three consecutive years have documented that violations of freedom of religion or belief in Indonesia stem from a half-hearted guarantee of the right to freedom of religion or belief. The policy of restricting human rights adopted by the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia (Article 28J, paragraph 2) has led to the guarantees of freedom of religion or belief—as well as other constitutional rights of citizens—being neglected and not seriously enforced. While continuing to advocate for amendments to the Indonesian Constitution that more firmly guarantee freedom of religion or belief, as well as the implementation of constitutional guarantees and the consequences of ratifying international human rights instruments, the SETARA Institute strives to present factual data on violations of freedom of religion or belief each year. This report is the third report published by the SETARA Institute.
At the practical level, the need for an up-to-date national database that can serve as a reference on the state of religious and belief life in Indonesia—as a foundation for drafting legislation and policies—has prompted the SETARA Institute to conduct this kind of regular monitoring. The current state of Indonesia’s religious demographics and sociological landscape reveals alarming trends that threaten the country’s diversity, raising the potential for the neglect of freedom guarantees. Consequently, monitoring and advocacy efforts to ensure these guarantees are upheld have become highly relevant and a collective national necessity.